Cafe Sua Da or Ca Phe Sua Da -Vietnamese Coffee
I am an absolute caffeine addict and must have a cup of coffee every morning--no, not Starbucks, but cafe sua da -Vietnamese iced coffee. Cafe sua da is coffee made with rich dark French roasted coffee with chicory (an herb that's roasted and used to flavor coffee) and condensed milk over ice. It's stronger, bolder, and richer than iced coffee at Starbucks and it's so much cheaper and easy to make. All you need to make cafe sua is a Vietnamese coffee filter press and coarsely ground dark roast coffee--any type will do but preferably with chicory such as Cafe du Monde and Cafe Trung Nguyen. Recently, our friend Anh from Food Lovers Journey was so kind and sent us a bag of coffee from Hanoi called Cafe Mai for us to try and it was great--thank you, Anh!
Cafe Sua Da -Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Cafe Sua Da -Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Printable recipe
In a small coffee cup, add about 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk (adjust amount to your tastes). In the coffee press, add about 2 tablespoons of ground coffee and screw press on snugly, but not too tight.
Place the coffee press over the glass of condensed milk. Pour a bit of hot water into the coffee press and check--if it flows right through, the filter is too loose (use the side of your spoon or a quarter to tighten, one to two turns clockwise. Fill the remainder of the press to about 1/2 inch from the top and cover. The coffee will drip slowly and take about 5 minutes to fully drip so be patient and browse our blog :)
When done, set the press aside and stir well. Pour over a large ice filled glass and enjoy.
How fast the coffee drips effects the strength of the coffee. The tighter the filter, the slower the drip, the stronger the coffee. I've also tried it with half the amount of condensed milk and used fat-free French Vanilla half and half and it turned out great with half the amount of calories!
This is the perfect beverage when I need a jump start in 115 degree weather in Arizona.
- Vietnamese coffee filter press (about $3-4)
- 2 tbs sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tbs French roast preferably with chicory, medium to coarsely ground (we like Cafe du Monde or Cafe Trung Nguyen)
- large glass of filled with ice
- hot water
In a small coffee cup, add about 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk (adjust amount to your tastes). In the coffee press, add about 2 tablespoons of ground coffee and screw press on snugly, but not too tight.
Place the coffee press over the glass of condensed milk. Pour a bit of hot water into the coffee press and check--if it flows right through, the filter is too loose (use the side of your spoon or a quarter to tighten, one to two turns clockwise. Fill the remainder of the press to about 1/2 inch from the top and cover. The coffee will drip slowly and take about 5 minutes to fully drip so be patient and browse our blog :)
When done, set the press aside and stir well. Pour over a large ice filled glass and enjoy.
How fast the coffee drips effects the strength of the coffee. The tighter the filter, the slower the drip, the stronger the coffee. I've also tried it with half the amount of condensed milk and used fat-free French Vanilla half and half and it turned out great with half the amount of calories!
This is the perfect beverage when I need a jump start in 115 degree weather in Arizona.
yum! one of my favorites for sure! my mom stocked me up on the Trung Nguyen coffee when she last went to Vietnam (yeah...i know you can get it in the states, but something about it being straight from Vietnam makes it more fun!)
ReplyDeleteVietnamese Iced Coffee is the bomb! My mom brought a Vietnamese coffee filter/press back from her trip to Vietnam for me, along with coffee laced with chicory. I love it!
ReplyDeletewell a lot like South Indian filter coffee this is on my blog, yummy
ReplyDeleteYum! I love Vietnamese coffee too. Thanks for the tips on how to make it traditionally using the coffee filter press. I've always wondered how to use those.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved Vietnamese Iced Coffee! The rich, sweet condensed milk with strong coffee is like dessert but so refreshing simultaneously. Really amazing stuff, forget Starbucks!
ReplyDeletenatalie: cafe su da is always more satisfying to make on your own and Trung Nguyen coffee is very good.
ReplyDeleteJessica: Those Vietnamese coffee filter are the best for only a few bucks!
Chow and Chatter: We'll have to check that out. Thanks for letting us know.
Jen: Cafe sua da is really easy once you do it a few times..give it a try!
Connie: We agree Vietnamese ice coffee beats starbucks any day :)
My favorite drink when the weather is hot!
ReplyDeleteI love Vietnamese coffee and the photos are a nice reminder of sweet childhood memories of trying to sip from my mom's glass of iced coffee. I did not realize that it was chicory that added that smoky flavor! Thanks for the informative post, I'm looking forward to picking up Cafe du Monde on my next trip to the Asian markets.
ReplyDeleteI adore Vietnamese coffee, but haven't made it for ages. I even have the press - no excuses! Your pictures are wonderful, as usual.
ReplyDeleteI would love to try Vietnamese Iced Coffee! It sounds just wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI recently had Vietnamese coffee at Baoguette in NYC, and was hooked! Thanks for showing me how I could do it at home!
ReplyDeleteelra: Vietnamese iced coffee is heavenly on a hot day..
ReplyDeletefresh local and best: thank you for sharing your memories about cafe sua da...we hope you enjoy your next cup
cookin canuck: sometimes we just to busy, but don't let the slow drip stop you from enjoying cafe sua da :)
5 star foodie: we hope you can make vietnamese iced coffee sometime!
erin: let us know how cafe sua da goes for you when you make it!
Vietnamese coffee is one of the best I've had but it is really very strong as I stayed awake like an owl the whole night! I have a similar coffee press too which I bought in Hanoi many yrs back.
ReplyDeletepetite nyonya: cafe sua da can definitely be strong--staying up the whole night--yikes! that's why we don't drink it too quickly and let the ice melt a bit first!
ReplyDeleteLovely coffee. I like this. I'm starting to love coffee with condensed milk. Yummy.
ReplyDeleteDivina: vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk makes it really heavenly... :)
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ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you are making the Vietnamese cafe for a large group, can you use a french press??
ReplyDelete@stacy: yes, it should work. you can also make it in advance too. some restaurants that don't have the drip method make it advance and just keep in tightly sealed and refrigerated.
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